Hantuchova Back to Top Form
EASTBOURNE, England - Daniela Hantuchova may have finally turned the corner on
a not-so-successful year.
The 21-year-old Slovakian, who dropped out of the Top 50 this month, scored her
first win over a Top 20 player this year by upsetting world No.13 Ai Sugiyama,
61 76(7).
"In the first set, I felt like that was some of the best tennis I played in
quite a while," Hantuchova said. "That felt like old times."
For Hantuchova, "old times" meant a stellar 2002 season, in which she won her
first Tour title at Indian Wells, a Tier I event, by stunning world No.4
Martina Hingis in the final. She was the lowest seed, at No.18, to win a Tier I
event. She also reached the semifinals or better at six events that were Tier
II or above and finished the year with a 56-25 record. At the beginning of 2003,
she hit a career-high No.5 ranking.
Since then though, she's struggled, closing 2003 with a 28-23 record. She
entered Eastbourne as a wildcard with a 8-11 record for the year.
But it seems as if she is on her way back, with that same graceful on-court
style that she is known for. As the only unseeded player in the final four,
she is appearing in her first semifinal of the year. In fact, her win over No.3
seed Sugiyama prevented a Top 4 semifinal round, in which the top four seeds
advanced.
"I've been working very hard these last few months, and I felt this was coming,
" Hantuchova said. "This is just the start. There is still more work to be done."
Hantuchova's next obstacle is top seed Amelie Mauresmo, who defeated No.8 seed
Magdalena Maleeva, 64 63, to reached her fifth semifinal of the year.
In contrast to Hantuchova, Mauresmo has enjoyed a remarkable year, picking up
back-to-back Tier I titles in Berlin and Rome in May and finishing runner-up at
Sydney and Amelia Island early in the season. Known for her superior clay-court
skills, Mauresmo now hopes to clinch her first title on grass.
In keeping with the well-known Russian revolution and the youth movement of
last week, the second semifinal will feature two Russian teenagers, as No.2
seed Svetlana Kuznetsova takes on No.4 seed Vera Zvonareva. This guarantees a
Russian in a final for the third straight week.
Kuznetsova, 18 and newest member of the world's Top 10, advanced with a 36 62
63 win over Tina Pisnik, the only three-set match of the day. Zvonareva, 19
with a career-high ranking of No.11, scored an easy 63 60 win over Maria
Sanchez Lorenzo.
Friday's semifinal will be a career-first for both Russians as neither has
advanced past the quarterfinals on grass.
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 211.74.240.203
Hantuchova 近期熱門文章
PTT體育區 即時熱門文章
